Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Happy Hump day everyone! Today we have M.A. Church on the blog for her hot new release, A Country Boy at Heart. Country Boy is part of the States of Love novels from Dreamspinner Press. Church is sharing a guest post and an excerpt from the book, and we also have Cat's review. Once you get done with all that greatness, remember to leave a comment to be entered into the monthly giftcard giveaway!

Hot damn, what more could a country boy want?
Bass Pro Shop is finally opening in Tennessee. Nick plans to check out all twelve
indoor acres chock-full of hunting, fishing, and boating in the Memphis Pyramid
on the Mississippi River.

City boy Sandy wonders yet again how he let
himself get talked into attending a grand opening for a hick hunting store. His
geeky heart prefers the energy of the city. Little does he know all that is
going to change due to a freakishly tall glass elevator—and Nick, the
high-school crush who’s suddenly taking a second look at him.

A moment of panic while trapped in the elevator
leads to a spark neither expected. Getting out is the least of the challenges
they’ll face if they want to try to put their differences aside and find out if
love is possible between a city boy and a country boy.

Sandy has had a crush on Nick since Nock rescued him in high school. But that same day Nick outed himself accidentally and turned his back on Sandy. In the past five years everytime Nick has tried to approach Sandy to apologize Sandy bolts. Finally one day at the grand opening of the Bass Pro shop Nick seizes an opportunity to talk to Sandy. How can he escape in a glass elevator?

Country boy at heart is a cute, fast-paced and funny story. I loved the touch of humor added. Sandy is a city boy and Nick a country boy. He takes Sandy on a camping trip. I laughed at this. Sandy is adorable, and Nick is hot.

There were a few things mentioned in the story that left me hanging, like who was Lonnie skyping with that he wouldn't confide in Sandy. But all-in-all I really enjoyed this story.

If you like country boys, city boys, opposites attract, second chances, a touch of humor, cocky peacocks and cute dogs you will like this.

Guest post:

When I created my country boy, Nick, I already knew what type of job he was going to have. I based what Nick does on my son, who’s been an employee at a full-working farm since he was sixteen.

When he started, he only worked on the paintball course at the farm, but now he’s the second man in charge at age twenty-three. Yup, at twenty-three. Just like in the story, the owners are retired and their son runs the farm now. He’s also a state representative, so at there are times when he’s not there.

And just like my son, Nick is able to do a little bit of everything… from spraying to kill weeds to traveling several states over to pick up Christmas trees. He helped build the reception area for weddings held at the farm and has dealt with contractors who were building a small playground.

In the beginning of A Country Boy at Heart, Nick’s squared off with a peacock from their farm. There’s a wedding about to take place, and the bride had the insane idea of having a peacock walked down the aisle before her.

The colors of her wedding coincide with the colors of the peacock so she thought it would be a cool idea. *snicker* Remember, this is a wild animal who tends to do his business wherever it pleases.

Plus, Nick has it in his head that this peacock is out to get him. Several times in the story Nick mumbles about how the peacock is going to take over the world but nobody will listen to his warnings, lol. He and Mister Peacock don’t like each other.

And yes, there’s a peacock at the farm my son works at, lol. ;)

Excerpt:

AHHHHH WHHAAAAAHH whahhh whhhhaaaa!

“Oh my God, is that a woman screaming?”

Nick barely resisted rolling his eyes. Could the wedding guests
not tell the sound came from the giant bird currently displaying his
magnificent feathers as he strutted? The peacock did a little dance, squawked
again, and then stopped.

Oh. Oh damn, that’s not good. It turned its head, almost as if searching
for him. He swore he saw an evil gleam in its eyes. Okay, now what? He
tried to sidle farther back out of the way, but the tiny woman who stood at
five feet nothing even in those lethally spiked heels clamped onto his elbow.

He winced. Jesus, she’s got a grip on her. He
wasn’t sure which of the two—her or the ornate wall mount—concerned him
most. Yeah, right. Nick eyed the ornery bird. Mister Peacock
and he had been in an ongoing battle for supremacy for the last several years.

Damn. What was the menace on two legs doing now? Oh
fuck, it spotted me. It made a funny sound, then shook its body. If he
didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn it smiled when it spotted him. It
certainly tossed its head as it… oh, shit.

Literally.

The wedding coordinator grabbed the back of Nick’s shirt and
yanked, hard. What the hell did she eat for breakfast? He
stumbled backward, and only sheer luck kept him from going down on his ass. The
peacock squawked again—only this time it sounded like laughter.

“Your peacock just shit all over the runner! The runner that leads
to the trellis! That’s where the pastor is going to marry them!” she whispered
furiously.

While he thought that lovely shade of fire-engine red was an
interesting color for her, he was a little concerned. He didn’t have time for
yet another apocalyptic temper tantrum.

As tempted as he was to cover his ears, he was afraid that would
get them boxed by Mrs. Big City Wedding Planner. Why didn’t the lady comprehend
wild animals were wild and tended to shit whenever the urge
hit? Although he did wonder if it did that just to spite him.

“Both Rob and I tried to explain to you that could happen, Mrs.
Smith,” Nick whispered fiercely back to her. “Several times over, as a matter
of fact, and in several different ways.”

Fat lot of good it did. The woman refused to budge. The bride’s
colors were the same beautiful iridescent blues and greens that were in the
peacock feathers, and she just had to have a peacock walking
down the runner before her.

Rob, or Robert Gatlin, was actually the owner’s son. Dr. Ernie
Gatlin had recently retired from his medical practice, and he and the missus
planned to do some traveling, so he’d turned operations of the farm completely
over to Robert.

Nick scratched his head as he stared at the steaming pile of shit
on the stark white runner, as did several horrified wedding guests who’d
already been seated. “What do you want me to do?”

“Go get it!” Mrs. Smith exclaimed as quietly as she could.

“Um, okay. The shi… I mean the poop, right? Ah….” Nick took a step
back from the wedding planner, whose eyes were bulging. “Do you have anything I
can use to—”

The sound that came out of the tiny woman next to him made his
hair stand up. Which was quite a feat, considering his hair was short. Man,
even the peacock hadn’t sounded that deranged.

“O-oh, okay, then. Wow.” He assumed she meant for him to get the
poop, but now he wasn’t so sure. “Ah, guess not. I’m open to suggestions, just
in case, you know, you got any.”

Seeing an opportunity to escape, he edged away from the wedding
planner.

Mrs. Smith grabbed Nick by his shirt again and jerked him down to
her level. “You listen to me, young man. Go get that runner out of there
right now. That bride’s wedding gown cost ten thousand dollars, and
I am not having her walk across bird shit just to get to the altar. Ten thousand dollars.
Do you understand that?”

Nick gulped. Ten thousand? Who the hell spent that kind of money
on a dress? Was the bride insane along with her wedding planner? No, he didn’t understand
that. Not for clothing. Now, for a four-wheeler? Oh yeah, he’d drop that kind
of cash on a four-wheeler in a heartbeat.

Once Mrs. Smith released him, Nick raced out there and shooed the
bird out of the way. He quickly removed the runner, hissing only slightly when
Mister Peacock pecked him on the ass. Damn pain-in-the-ass bird. He was going
to pluck the bastard clean one day. He stood, and the peacock pranced out of
his way.

Smart bird.

Art, the guy Mrs. Smith had been harping at on her headset,
magically appeared right behind Nick, laying down a new runner. This runner
wasn’t as spiffy as the first one, but it was missing a very important element
in its design—peacock poop.

Nick pulled Mister Peacock’s favorite treat out of his pocket and
held it out. Luck was on Nick’s side. The birdbrain followed Nick back to its
pen. He threw the treat inside, and Mister Peacock followed after it, no
problem. Of course. It preened, looking entirely too pleased with itself.
Stupid bird was going to be the death of him, if he didn’t kill it first. Okay,
he was joking. Sort of. Maybe.

“Blasted pain-in-the-ass bird,” he muttered as the first sounds of
the wedding march drifted to him.

“Ahhhhh whhaaaaahh whahhh whhhhaaaa!”

“Right back at you, you overgrown dust buster.” Nick sincerely
hoped no more birds shit on this damn event.

Springtime was their busy time for weddings. The dogwoods were in
bloom all over the farm, the weather hadn’t turned melt-your-face-off hot yet,
and the air carried the fragrant scent of flowers. Even though it was just the
end of April, he was still sweating buckets.

The standing joke was that if you didn’t like Memphis weather,
just wait thirty minutes and it would change. They’d already had a few days
with the temperature pushing ninety degrees. The humidity wasn’t bad yet, but
it was coming. By August the humidity would be as thick as his aunt Sally’s
soup and just as deadly.

M.A. Church is a true Southern belle who spent many years in the
elementary education sector. Now she spends her days lost in fantasy worlds,
arguing with hardheaded aliens on far-off planets, herding her numerous
shifters, or trying to tempt her country boys away from their fishing poles.
It’s a full time job, but hey, someone’s gotta do it!

When not writing, she’s on the back porch tending to the demanding
wildlife around the pond in the backyard. The ducks are very outspoken. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, and
they have two grown children.

She was a finalist in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, runner up in the
2015 Rainbow Awards, and is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of
America.

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered into the TTC Books and more monthly comment giveaway. EVERY comment that is relevant to the specific post will be entered. Prizes include various gift cards and swag donated by Publishers, Authors and blog Owner. REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFO! How else will I notify you if you win?

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered into the TTC Books and more monthly comment giveaway. EVERY comment that is relevant to the specific post will be entered. Prizes include various gift cards and swag donated by Publishers, Authors and blog Owner. REMEMBER TO LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFO! How else will I notify you if you win?